Beer

[karstenkibbe]

No fighting desired. I'm a pacifist.

I don't have the time or inclination to be going out every weekend to a brewery an hour away. I try my best to not drive buzzed, which makes putting down anything over 8% ABV a challenge if I'm not staying long.

I also don't like the assumption that if someone doesn't like one thing, then hey, let's assume they consume the lowest common denominator of whatever. I do not like sours all that much. Last I was in LA, I found Monkish to be the most pretentious bunch of hipster douchenozzles I'd ever experienced - and a tap menu where I found nothing enjoyable. So I went over to Smog City and found stuff I liked. But I was razzed here for my "ignorance" of the Monkish "vibe". None of which means I was headed to the nearest packy to find a six of IC Mango Light. I had an excellent west coast IPA and chocolate stout at Smog City.

I've also said several times that I believe there's a place for lawnmower beer and that it's silly to overpay for beers that function in that role. I have the remnants of a 12-pack macro in my beer fridge. Which doesn't mean I order those when I go out.

If I'm watching my calories and want a lower ABV/calorie beer, I'll order a Guinness.

And there's no excuse for drinking Maxwell House in the 21st century.

Holy crap. Who said “I don’t like shelfies”. And since when is a lager/pils considered “the lowest common denominator” of beers. You used the word “assumption” in your post. Assuming is exactly what you’re doing right now. And we all know the expression about assuming….

 

[karstenkibbe]

Funny enough. I saw one four-pack of Focal Banger in the fridge and grabbed it so I can take it back south in a few days. I've had enough of them to know I like it but wanted to try beers I hadn't previously drank.

As for date on CW can, I don't see anything printed on it but appears to have e a very faint 2 6 stamped on the bottom of rhe can. MO idea what that means.

As for @karstenkibbe comment about just liking pilsner because they are lighter beers, I almost grabbed some Marlowe's The Way I See It German Lagers to give them a try.

After drinking plenty of lighter brews you can tell a brewers skill in brewing lighter beers because any imbalance or inconsistency is easier to taste than a beer with stronger ingredients competing for taste.

If you have the time to go back and grab The Way I see It, I highly recommend. This last batch, canned a few weeks ago, was lagered longer than any previous batch, and it’s pretty dynamic for the style. Just a great beer for sunny, warm days.

 

[storrsroars]

Holy crap. Who said “I don’t like shelfies”. And since when is a lager/pils considered “the lowest common denominator” of beers. You used the word “assumption” in your post. Assuming is exactly what you’re doing right now. And we all know the expression about assuming….

I was editing my post when you posted the above (note the time stamp and that the offending quote does not appear in your c&p while it does appear in 8893s). I then noted that I misread your line about the shelfies and apologized for that.

I will also note that going to "maybe you prefer lagers" is a time-honored smackdown of people who say they didn't like some hoppier/fruitier beer that the intelligentsia enjoys. I see it all the time. Given my mistake in reading your shelfie comment, it was a logical conclusion, which has now been shown to be in error. And yes, I'm just as guilty of using a similar smackdown of people who like dark roasted coffee.

 

[storrsroars]

Your reading comprehension is lacking. @karstenkibbe does drink shelfies (and pilsners). That was his point.

I sense projection.

To the first part, yes, I misread that.

To the second part - I misread the first part.

 

[karstenkibbe]

To the first part, yes, I misread that.

To the second part - I misread the first part.

After I do some spring yard work, I will gladly drink a delicious traditional 4.2% Czech lager from Schilling (Littleton, NH) that I picked up this week. Don’t want you to think I’m part of the high-ABV milkshake ipa intelligentsia! I kid. Kind of!

 

[storrsroars]

After I do some spring yard work, I will gladly drink a delicious traditional 4.2% Czech lager from Schilling (Littleton, NH) that I picked up this week. Don’t want you to think I’m part of the high-ABV milkshake ipa intelligentsia! I kid. Kind of!

Tell ya what. I'll be in Danbury end of June through the July 4 weekend. I will be bringing some General Braddock's with me (possibly others). Happy to make a drop off in Stamford (have to pass thru anyway for couple of things).

 

[FfldCntyFan]

About 9-10 years ago. Congress Street from Trillium was the first beer I ever had like that. Treehouse Julius may have been earlier, but it was so tiny then. Heady Topper, Lawson’s Double Sunshine and Abner at Hill Farmstead were going slightly in that direction sooner than that and started the trend.

Have you not had beers like this?

I don't believe I have. Over the years I have tried various craft brews and IPA's (which I personally believe has reached an arms race as to how heavily hopped they can get them) but I always return to (true) Bavarian lagers and Bohemian pilsners (Spaten tops the list but I am also a fan of Paulaner, Pilsner Urquell and Czechvar, the real budweiser).

When it comes to beers my attitude primarily is "if it aint broke, don't fix it" and in places like Munich and Prague, the perfected it centuries ago. For the purposes of full transparency; when I was in my mid-late 20's (mid to late 1980's) there were a couple spots in Manhattan that I frequented that each had beer menus with more than 500 beers in their selections. I vowed that each beer I would order would be one that I had never tried. With what I have sampled at those two spots, an inordinate amount of business travelling during the 1980's & 1990', a bit of international travelling over the past decade and a decent number of craft brews it would not be an exaggeration to claim that I have tried nearly 1,000 different beers (and ales) in my lifetime but I would still choose a Spaten over anything if given the choice.

Maybe I'm a bit too set in my ways but I'm not sure that I would be a fan of a beer that isn't translucent. I also don't see the attraction that some have to sours or the overly hoppy IPA's that end up being so bitter that it becomes a struggle to drink them. That said, everyone is allowed their tastes and opinions.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

Tell ya what. I'll be in Danbury end of June through the July 4 weekend. I will be bringing some General Braddock's with me (possibly others). Happy to make a drop off in Stamford (have to pass thru anyway for couple of things).

I believe that you and I, @karstenkibbe, @dvegas and any other boneyarders in the area plan a get together to knock back a few one night during your trip.

 

[storrsroars]

I believe that you and I, @karstenkibbe, @dvegas and any other boneyarders in the area plan a get together to knock back a few one night during your trip.

Appreciate the thought, but I'll be there for my godson's wedding, so 3 of 4 nights are already booked, the 4th should find me on the other side of the state, and I still need to fit in a trip to LI so wife can visit her sister. Kinda jammed up even to squeeze in a lunch. I'm not even sure if I'll have time to pick up a Colony pie, which I always do. I'd stay longer, but wife just started a new job, so time off is an issue.

 

[karstenkibbe]

I don't believe I have. Over the years I have tried various craft brews and IPA's (which I personally believe has reached an arms race as to how heavily hopped they can get them) but I always return to (true) Bavarian lagers and Bohemian pilsners (Spaten tops the list but I am also a fan of Paulaner, Pilsner Urquell and Czechvar, the real budweiser).

When it comes to beers my attitude primarily is "if it aint broke, don't fix it" and in places like Munich and Prague, the perfected it centuries ago. For the purposes of full transparency; when I was in my mid-late 20's (mid to late 1980's) there were a couple spots in Manhattan that I frequented that each had beer menus with more than 500 beers in their selections. I vowed that each beer I would order would be one that I had never tried. With what I have sampled at those two spots, an inordinate amount of business travelling during the 1980's & 1990', a bit of international travelling over the past decade and a decent number of craft brews it would not be an exaggeration to claim that I have tried nearly 1,000 different beers (and ales) in my lifetime but I would still choose a Spaten over anything if given the choice.

Maybe I'm a bit too set in my ways but I'm not sure that I would be a fan of a beer that isn't translucent. I also don't see the attraction that some have to sours or the overly hoppy IPA's that end up being so bitter that it becomes a struggle to drink them. That said, everyone is allowed their tastes and opinions.

Unfortunately, Schilling Beer distributes in every New England state and New York… but not CT due to our arcane, bordering on territorial monopoly distribution laws. If you’re ever down in Westchester/Putnam/Dutchess counties, you should try to stop at a DeCicco’s market or at Halftime Beverage, both of which carry fresh German and Czech lagers/pilsners of every regional style from Schilling. The brewery sources almost all ingredients from those countries in order to brew as “true to the style” as possible. Check out schillingbeer.com.

As for IPAs, I do agree that it’s become an arms race and I believe it’s reached a tipping point on overhopping and cramming a half dozen different hops into one beer. Just becomes a murky mess. But I do adore a clean tasting IPA with fruity sweetness up front and a soft, bitter finish. I also love stouts, sour IPAs, spontaneous and mixed fermentation funky beers that may sit in oak for a few years prior to bottling. No two palates are the same, which makes craft beer (and cider, for that matter) a bit of an adventure. Everyone can find a style (or styles) that suits their own tastes.

 

[karstenkibbe]

Tell ya what. I'll be in Danbury end of June through the July 4 weekend. I will be bringing some General Braddock's with me (possibly others). Happy to make a drop off in Stamford (have to pass thru anyway for couple of things).

If I’m not at my sister-in-law’s place in the Berkshires, I’m totally up for that!

 

[karstenkibbe]

I believe that you and I, @karstenkibbe, @dvegas and any other boneyarders in the area plan a get together to knock back a few one night during your trip.

Methinks we need to carry through on your idea during the college basketball season!

 

[HuskyHawk]

I don't believe I have. Over the years I have tried various craft brews and IPA's (which I personally believe has reached an arms race as to how heavily hopped they can get them) but I always return to (true) Bavarian lagers and Bohemian pilsners (Spaten tops the list but I am also a fan of Paulaner, Pilsner Urquell and Czechvar, the real budweiser).

When it comes to beers my attitude primarily is "if it aint broke, don't fix it" and in places like Munich and Prague, the perfected it centuries ago. For the purposes of full transparency; when I was in my mid-late 20's (mid to late 1980's) there were a couple spots in Manhattan that I frequented that each had beer menus with more than 500 beers in their selections. I vowed that each beer I would order would be one that I had never tried. With what I have sampled at those two spots, an inordinate amount of business travelling during the 1980's & 1990', a bit of international travelling over the past decade and a decent number of craft brews it would not be an exaggeration to claim that I have tried nearly 1,000 different beers (and ales) in my lifetime but I would still choose a Spaten over anything if given the choice.

Maybe I'm a bit too set in my ways but I'm not sure that I would be a fan of a beer that isn't translucent. I also don't see the attraction that some have to sours or the overly hoppy IPA's that end up being so bitter that it becomes a struggle to drink them. That said, everyone is allowed their tastes and opinions.

Yes. That was the trick. When Trillium made Congress street they filtered it as usual. Wasn’t as good. They spent months on it and decided it was best when cloudy. Yet for beer competitions ”clarity” was a category so obviously those beers need not apply. As they exploded in popularity eventually a new category New England IPA was created so they could be awarded.

Early on, many breweries that didn’t know what they were doing faked it, making ”hazy” versions of regular IPAs. Those were awful. Eventually the knowledge spread and now you can find the style almost everywhere. The basics are a light malt, Pilsner or sometimes some oats, very few of the C hops (Cascade, Chinook, Centennial, Columbus) that are the basis of piney, bitter west coast IPAs. Citra is the C exception, and as the name implies the modern hops used impart more fruity, tropical flavors. Also, a low flocculating English Ale yeast. Then the brewing difference is very little hopping during the kettle boil (when all hopping occurred traditionally). Instead they hop late as it cools. Boiling hops extracts the bitterness. Late hopping requires more hops for flavor, but it’s far less bitter. That is part of why the beers are expensive.

I have found that most people that didn’t care for the big, massively hoppy and bitter west coast IPAs (Stone for example) prefer the NE IPA. Give one a shot. As for lagers, if you can get Jack’s Abby they do great stuff. I’m particularly partial to their House Lager, which they based on several German lagers they had on a trip. They were all beers that didn’t get bottled, just sold as the “house” beer at the brewery.

 

[karstenkibbe]

Yes. That was the trick. When Trillium made Congress street they filtered it as usual. Wasn’t as good. They spent months on it and decided it was best when cloudy. Yet for beer competitions ”clarity” was a category so obviously those beers need not apply. As they exploded in popularity eventually a new category New England IPA was created so they could be awarded.

Early on, many breweries that didn’t know what they were doing faked it, making ”hazy” versions of regular IPAs. Those were awful. Eventually the knowledge spread and now you can find the style almost everywhere. The basics are a light malt, Pilsner or sometimes some oats, very few of the C hops (Cascade, Chinook, Centennial, Columbus) that are the basis of piney, bitter west coast IPAs. Citra is the C exception, and as the name implies the modern hops used impart more fruity, tropical flavors. Also, a low flocculating English Ale yeast. Then the brewing difference is very little hopping during the kettle boil (when all hopping occurred traditionally). Instead they hop late as it cools. Boiling hops extracts the bitterness. Late hopping requires more hops for flavor, but it’s far less bitter. That is part of why the beers are expensive.

I have found that most people that didn’t care for the big, massively hoppy and bitter west coast IPAs (Stone for example) prefer the NE IPA. Give one a shot. As for lagers, if you can get Jack’s Abby they do great stuff. I’m particularly partial to their House Lager, which they based on several German lagers they had on a trip. They were all beers that didn’t get bottled, just sold as the “house” beer at the brewery.

Fun fact about the Hendler family that owns Jack’s Abby. Jack/Eric/Sam’s grandfather owned and ran an ice business in the Springdale section of Stamford for decades before the family relocated to Framingham. I met Sam at a JA tasting at the Pony Bar in Manhattan a number of years ago. He told me that they had something planned as an ode to their roots in Stamford, but couldn’t tell me. Shortly after, their experimental brewery, Springdale, was born. Pretty cool stuff.

 

[8893]

Fun fact about the Hendler family that owns Jack’s Abby. Jack/Eric/Sam’s grandfather owned and ran an ice business in the Springdale section of Stamford for decades before the family relocated to Framingham. I met Sam at a JA tasting at the Pony Bar in Manhattan a number of years ago. He told me that they had something planned as an ode to their roots in Stamford, but couldn’t tell me. Shortly after, their experimental brewery, Springdale, was born. Pretty cool stuff.

Love the Pony Bar.

 

[karstenkibbe]

This may not be my last beer of the day. Next-level lager with 100% Czech-sourced ingredients, except for the New Hampshire North Country water. If you don’t believe a lager can qualify as a “wow beer”, this could change your thinking…

 

[storrsroars]

Fun fact about the Hendler family that owns Jack’s Abby. Jack/Eric/Sam’s grandfather owned and ran an ice business in the Springdale section of Stamford for decades before the family relocated to Framingham. I met Sam at a JA tasting at the Pony Bar in Manhattan a number of years ago. He told me that they had something planned as an ode to their roots in Stamford, but couldn’t tell me. Shortly after, their experimental brewery, Springdale, was born. Pretty cool stuff.

That's some deep dive into local history. I remember that place - well before bagged cubes were available all over, huge blocks were the thing (and steel coolers), and that was the place to get 'em. I also remember it being torn down and replaced with high rise apartments that became a playground during their construction.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Watching the Celtics outside on my iPad.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

This may not be my last beer of the day. Next-level lager with 100% Czech-sourced ingredients, except for the New Hampshire North Country water. If you don’t believe a lager can qualify as a “wow beer”, this could change your thinking…

View attachment 76095

Kibbe, where can I find that?

 

[Chin Diesel]

Round two. Straight out of can today. First beer of day.

Definitely tastes better and tastes like a traditional IPA. I don’t know if I would buy it again but have a better feel for what I'd be getting if someone offered it to me.

 

[karstenkibbe]

Kibbe, where can I find that?

Closest place would be right over the NY border at the new DeCicco’s in Bedford Village. Take Long Ridge Road in Stamford north to its terminus hang a left onto Route 22 and it’s about a mile down on the right. They currently have about a half dozen different lagers and Pilsners from Schilling.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

Closest place would be right over the NY border at the new DeCicco’s in Bedford Village. Take Long Ridge Road in Stamford north to its terminus hang a left onto Route 22 and it’s about a mile down on the right. They currently have about a half dozen different lagers and Pilsners from Schilling.

Thank you!

Fortunately I live right off Long Ridge road

 

[8893]

Closest place would be right over the NY border at the new DeCicco’s in Bedford Village. Take Long Ridge Road in Stamford north to its terminus hang a left onto Route 22 and it’s about a mile down on the right. They currently have about a half dozen different lagers and Pilsners from Schilling.

I had a case in Danbury for a few years and I worked in a trip to DeCiccio’s in Brewster the first couple times I had to go to court. This was after years of hearing my friends rave about their beer selection, so I figured I would check out their cider selection.

I spent more than $300 each time, and then I forbade myself from stopping there.

 

[karstenkibbe]

Thank you!

Fortunately I live right off Long Ridge road

I’m warning you. It’s like no other supermarket beer section you’ve ever seen. And… 16 tap lines upstairs, pouring fresh, amazing beer. Dangerous grocery store!!!!

 

[karstenkibbe]

I had a case in Danbury for a few years and I worked in a trip to DeCiccio’s in Brewster the first couple times I had to go to court. This was after years of hearing my friends rave about their beer selection, so I figured I would check out their cider selection.

I spent more than $300 each time, and then I forbade myself from stopping there.

@FfldCntyFan what @8893 said above. Funny Brewster was also my first DeCicco’s experience as well. You may find yourself spending way too much time heading north, rather than shopping at Trader Joe’s, Acme, Stop and Shop or LaRocca’s.